By Christopher Zoukis What do whales’ teeth, cowrie shells, Cognac, large stone disks, and foil packets of mackerel have in common? The perhaps surprising answer is that they have all been used as units of currency in vastly differing societies at drastically different times. The exchange of goods through barter has doubtless gone on since […]

According to Forbes and CNN, women make up 50% of the population and control 80% of consumer purchasing decisions. More importantly, women now own 30% of all businesses in the United States, and this number is growing. Women directly control over $7 trillion dollars. By the year 2010, it is predicted that women will control private wealth in the amount of $13 trillion. This fantastic growth in income is changing the face of marketing. Women are being targeted. Charles Schwab, Citibank and Merrill Lynch now have marketing aimed specifically at women. Image courtesy realestatetheband.com

Although married couples lead the way in home buying, the number two-position is held by single women. Women buy homes. Women invest their money. Women take luxury vacations. Women buy investment properties. Ignoring the affluent female customer is a mistake that no seller can afford to make.

The psychology of affluent female customers is different than that of affluent male customers. Now do not interpret that statement to mean anything more than what it says. For ultimately, affluent men and women purchase luxury goods and services for the same reasons, which will be discussed later. What is different between men and women is the way their brains actually function. Newsweek reported that brain-imaging technology has demonstrated definite distinctions between the functioning of male and female brains. Here are some of the distinctions:

Not too long ago, the U.S. Supreme Court made a momentous decision. The Court decided that the Affordable Care Act was in fact constitutional. The Democrats cheered and the Republicans booed. The Court asserted that ACA was a tax, and that the U.S. government has the right, according to the Constitution, to impose taxation. Essentially, and under the circumstances, the Court was correct. There’s nothing more to be said. Image courtesy of politicalnewsnow.com

Other than this: Obamacare is going to change the whole shape of the playing field.

Let’s take a look at what’s going to happen.

The U.S. Senate Budget Committee estimates that the Affordable Care Act will incur $17 trillion in additional cost over the rest of this century. At the present juncture, healthcare spending includes $38 trillion for Medicare, $20 trillion for Medicaid and $7 trillion for Social Security. Adding $17 trillion to the equation brings the grand total to $82 trillion. If that’s not scary enough, try this on for size: all of the above healthcare programs are unfunded. Translation: there’s no money set aside to pay for them.